Boys’ Basketball: Breaking down the state brackets for Ames, Ballard and South Hamilton

By Hayes Gardner Staff Writer hgardner@amestrib.com

Wednesday

Feb 27, 2019 at 12:47 PMFeb 27, 2019 at 8:50 PM

On Wednesday, the IHSAA announced the boys’ basketball state tournament brackets for each of the four classes. Here’s a look at the opening round matchup for each of the three area teams who qualified for state, held at Wells Fargo Arena next week.

Ames draws North Scott

One year after going 9-13, Ames punched its ticket to the 4A state tournament with an exciting substate final victory over Des Moines North on Tuedsay night.

Now 17-4 this season, the Little Cyclones advanced to state for the first time since 2015, and on Wednesday, the IHSAA announced Ames as the No. 7 seed. They’ll face No. 2 North Scott, Eldridge (22-1) on Tuesday at 8:15 p.m.

“Final eight, everybody’s gonna be really good. I thought we might have a higher seed, but it is what it is,” Ames coach Vance Downs told the Ames Tribune.

North Scott lost two weeks ago against Bettendorf — a team led by Ohio State commit D.J. Carton — but otherwise has an unblemished record. The Lancers have not faced another state tournament team.

Ames has played just one state tournament team, Dowling Catholic, and defeated them twice.

In the BC Moore rankings — a power ranking service of Iowa’s high school basketball teams — Ames is listed as the No. 5 team in the state, while North Scott is rated No. 13. Downs pointed out North’s Scott surprising ranking, but said he considers them to be a strong team.

“Maybe it doesn’t represent that if you buy into the BC Moore Index,” he told the Tribune. “They rank kind of low for a team that’s 22-1. Their league maybe isn’t as good as it has been, but they’re very, very talented.”

Five-foot-11 senior Cortaviaus Seales and 6-foot-6 junior Ty Anderson lead the Lancers with 14.4 and 13.5 points per game, respectively. North Scott topped Prairie 55-40 in their substate final.

“They’re just a really good team,” Downs told the Tribune.

This year’s Little Cyclone season has been marked by a mid-year lull: After starting the year 8-1, Ames dropped three games in a row in early January, before ripping off nine straight wins to reach this point.

“We went through a tough stretch,” Downs told the Tribune. “I think we grew from it. It made us better.”

South Hamilton gets No. 2 billing

Each of the past two years, South Hamilton has reached the 2A state tournament, only to exit after the first round.

But this year, the Hawks have their highest seed yet. South Hamilton has symmetrically improved their state seeding in each of the past three years. In 2017, they were a No. 8 seed and were bounced in the first round by the eventual state champions. Last year, they entered the tournament undefeated and nabbed a No. 4 seed before another narrow loss.

Now, the Hawks (21-1) are a No. 2 seed.

“I felt that we got a lot of respect amongst the other coaches. So, I’m very happy with the two-seed,” South Hamilton coach Nathan Hill told the Ames Tribune.

North Linn (23-0) was awarded the top seed.

In the opening round, South Hamilton will be pitted against No. 7 Rock Valley (18-7). The Rockets have more losses than any 2A team in the field, but have won five straight games, including a victory over West Sioux, which was previously undefeated.

“They played in a tough conference. They knocked off West Sioux, who was 21-0, when they beat them at the district final, and they’re a team doesn’t have a lot of size, but they play hard,” Hill told the Tribune.

Rock Valley is led by 6-foot senior Brayton Van Kekerix, who averages 18.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.7 steals per game. He leads the team in each category.

“They’re playing with a lot of confidence right now,” Hill told the Tribune. “They’re a team that plays good defense and they look like they’re a pretty tough, physical team.”

South Hamilton will face Rock Valley on Monday at 6:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

Ballard to face familiar opponent

On Nov. 27, Ballard opened their season with a 69-66 win against Norwalk. It was an impressive win over a state tournament team from the previous season, and a strong beginning for the Bombers’ year.

However, in the last three months, a lot has happened.

“It almost seems like another season ago,” Ballard coach Chris Deason said.

Just as they did their season, they’ll begin the state tournament with Norwalk. Ballard (15-9) drew the No. 8 seed in the 3A state tournament and will face the No. 1 Warriors (20-4), once again, on Tuesday at 11:15 a.m.

Because they have met, the two teams should be well-acquainted.

“The familiarity is good. We know exactly what we’re getting into and exactly what needs to be done,” Deason said. “I just like our group right now — people ask who you want to play and it really doesn’t matter. We’re playing with a lot of confidence right now.”

Ballard has won four straight games and topped Pella 73-57 in the substate final to qualify for their first state tournament since 2005.

Now, they’ll be pitted against the Warriors and junior star Bowen Born, who averages 27.2 points per game, second-most in 3A. Born, a 5-foot-11 guard who has offers from Drake and Northern Iowa, poured in 41 points in Norwalk’s 80-60 win over Gilbert in the substate final.

“A lot of people underestimate our schedule,” Ballard senior Reece Huern said. “We’ve had the opportunity to play a bunch of good guards: (Easton) Darling (of Winterset). We’ve played Born earlier this year, (Nate) Mueller from ADM. These guys are making us better every time we play them and it’s given us that edge against some of these good teams.”

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